Sacrilege by S.J. Parris

Former monk, radical philosopher, and spy Giordano Bruno is living in London in summer of 1584. As Bruno makes his way around London, he cannot shake the suspicion of being watched – particularly by a violent old enemy. Much to his surprise, his follower is none other than Sophia Underhill, a woman with whom he once fancied himself in love. Only now, she is desperately seeking his help. Accused of murdering her husband, Sophia has fled Canterbury and now needs to clear her name. Bruno agrees to help her in any way he can, but in Canterbury, not everything is as it seems. Bruno begins to uncover dangerous secrets and connections between Sir Edward Kingsley’s murder and the murder of twelfth-century archbishop Saint Thomas Becket. Now he can’t help but feel another murder is imminent – possibly his own.

S. J. Parris has written another meticulously researched historical mystery. Sacrilege is the third entry in the series featuring Giordano Bruno, following Heresy and Prophecy. The novel initially starts out a bit slow, but picks up once Bruno reaches Canterbury and starts to piece together the mysteries surrounding Sophia’s husband and Saint Thomas Becket. This novel is absolutely worth checking out if you enjoy well-written historical fiction and a good mystery. Bottom line: 3/5. Have you read any of the Giordano Bruno mysteries? Any other historical mystery series you’ve liked? I’ve been thinking about reading the series by Imogen Robertson…

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I have to try this series. Heard so much about it. I like the Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters. It was also a great BBC series with Derek Jacobi. I also like the Lindsey Davis series set in Ancient Rome: Marcus Didius Falco series. I’ve heard that Karen Maitland’s series set in 14 century England is supposed to be good, too. I have the first book, Company of Liars.